"FILM THEFT IN THE UK"

According to the excellent Digital Lifestyles magazine the UK Film Council has launched today a 94-page report containing 30 measures the Council feels will help defeat the spread of unauthorised film copying in the UK. Compiled by the Anti-Piracy Taskforce convened by the UK Film Council it contains suggestions of short, medium and long-term actions aimed at the UK Government, the UK film industry and, what they call, "Government-backed and other film sector stakeholders". Started in Summer 2003, it has taken nearly 18 months to complete. The report is being forwarded to The Creative Industries Forum on Intellectual Property, which was launched by the UK Government in July this year. Headed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department of Trade and Industry and Patent Office, the group contains Ministers from eight Government Departments including the Treasury and Home Office.

Based on figures from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), the report estimates the value of black market in pirate DVDs in the UK to be £400-£500 million in 2003 and they expected it to exceed £1 billion within three years, based on their retail price. The report lists the main sources of copied DVDs as Pakistan (36%), Malaysia (31%) and China (14%).

The IPKat admires the effort that has gone into this report, but doubts that the UK government will do nothing to stop the piracy (i.e. nothing that might lose it votes before next year's election). Merpel says, "hey, doesn't £500 million work out at nearly £10 per man, woman and child in the UK? Do we really spend that much on pirated CDs?"

Pirate films here and here
Terrible pirate jokes here, here and here